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An Alameda County jury convicted a former sheriff’s deputy Thursday of two counts of first-degree murder for killing his lover and her husband with his service weapon in the couple’s Dublin house two years ago.
Devin Williams Jr., 26, of Stockton now faces the prospect of 50 years to life in state prison for the deaths of Maria Tran and Benison Tran when he is sentenced next month at the East County Hall of Justice in Dublin.
“I first want to thank the jury for their diligent work in delivering this guilty verdict,” Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price said in a statement. “I also want to thank our entire prosecution team, including our Inspectors and Victim-Witness Advocates who worked diligently to get the conviction and provide services to the victims’ families, despite the intense public scrutiny and questioning of our commitment to successfully prosecute this case.”
“We recognize this horrific tragedy leaves a son without his parents and a community forever traumatized by this unacceptable and vicious home invasion attack on an unarmed and unsuspecting couple,” Price added.
The defense counsel for Williams, who pleaded not guilty to the charges, argued the killings were a crime of passion in pushing for the lesser counts of manslaughter, according to the San Francisco Chronicle, which covered closing arguments on Tuesday.
The jury rendered its verdict on Thursday (Oct. 3) after a trial that spanned more than 20 days, including deliberations during parts of three days, according to court records.
Authorities reported at the time that Maria Tran, 42, and husband Benison Tran, 57, were shot in the head and neck inside their home on Colebrook Lane on Sept. 7, 2022. The couple’s then-14-year-old son and Maria Tran’s mother and brother were in the house at the time – and one of the family members reportedly identified the shooter as “Devin”, saying “He is a cop.”
Investigators soon identified Williams as their prime suspect. They – and Williams’ family — said he was in a romantic relationship with Maria Tran, although she was married and lived with her husband in Dublin.
According to Dublin police, Williams immediately drove away from the house, likely discarded his service weapon in the Altamont Pass area and fled to the Coalinga area where then-police chief Garrett Holmes ultimately talked Williams into turning himself in some 12 hours later.
Williams was a young deputy in the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office who was assigned to courthouse and jail duties, not a patrol beat, authorities said. He had finished up an overtime shift at Santa Rita Jail in Dublin not long before the shooting occurred.
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Jennifer Madden, who presided over the trial, is scheduled to sentence Williams on Nov. 12 in Department 708 at the Dublin courthouse.
